\paperw3360 \margr0\margl0\ATXph16380 \plain \fs20 \pard\tx135\tx3255\tx6525\tx9780\ATXts240\ATXbrdr0 \f1 \fs22 This classical villa must have seemed most strange to contemporary
Englishmen. Apart from the curious fact that it was designed as two separate halves joined by a bridge, its lack of external ornamentation would have been in marked contrast to the theatrical facades then in vogue. Indeed, the elegant double staircase
on the north side and the charming \i loggia\b \b0 \i0 on the \i piano nobile\i0 must have appeared almost incomprehensible to those unfamiliar with\b \b0 Palladian\b \b0 architecture. The interior is based on the same simple geometry, the entrance
hall being a perfect 12 metre cube framed by a carved wooden gallery. The square floor contains a magnificent circular pattern of black-and-white marble.\par
